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Ministry signs letter of intent with HSHS

Ministry Door County Medical Center has signed a letter of intent to form a partnership with Hospital Sisters Health System "that will allow it to continue to operate as a locally led and controlled hospital."

Ministry signs letter of intent with HSHS

Ministry Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay includes a new wing on the south side of the building (at left). Photo was taken July 3, 2016.(Photo: Tina M. Gohr/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

Ministry Door County Medical Center has signed a letter of intent to form a partnership with Hospital Sisters Health System "that will allow it to continue to operate as a locally led and controlled hospital."

The hospital was first established in 1943 and became a part of Ministry Health Care in 1999. The hospital changed its name from Door County Memorial Hospital to Ministry Door County Medical Center in 2010 after it opened a new wing of the hospital. MDCMC has been a part of Ascension Wisconsin.

According to a news release, the hospital plans to maintain its Catholic identity.

"MDCMC and HSHS have signed a Letter of Intent for HSHS to enter into a minority interest affiliation with MDCMC that will permit the two organizations to work as partners in the delivery of high quality, compassionate health care to the residents of Door County and Northeast Wisconsin," the news release states.

“Our goal in seeking to partner with HSHS is to ensure the health care services we provide are highly coordinated and easy to access. Our patients want to receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, close to home. Because HSHS has a broad presence in Northeast Wisconsin, with four hospitals and Prevea health centers located throughout the region, we believe they are in the best position to be our partner in care going forward,” Gerald Worrick, president and CEO of Ministry Door County Medical Center, said in the release.

Worrick will continue to serve as Door County Medical Center CEO following the transition.

“We believe that formally partnering with Ministry Door County Medical Center will enable both organizations to work together to improve the health of communities across Northeast Wisconsin,” said Mary Starmann-Harrison, president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System.

The partnership between HSHS and MDCMC is expected to be completed in either November or December, said Kevin Grohskopf, chief business development officer for MDCMC. The medical center's partnership with Ascension is expected to conclude by the end of the year

The two organizations already partner in a number of areas including the Door County Cancer Center via partnering with St. Vincent to bring radiation therapy to the county, upgrades in technology, cancer specialist thought St. Vincent Regional Cancer Canter & Prevea Health, Prevea pathologist have provided clinical support over the years, and HSHS-Eastern Wisconsin Division also provides lab management.

In an interview Thursday, Worrick explained the hospital's name is still being worked on.

“It looks like we will probably stay Door County Medical Center,” he said. The hospital would just drop the word "Ministry."

The hospital's board of directors chose HSHS as a partner in part because it would be able to keep many parts of the operation local and to preserve the culture of the hospital, Worrick said.

“That’s the big selling (point),” he said.

The board considered both the patients and employees when deciding whether to partner with another organization.

"They took this very, very seriously and (used) a lot of their own personal time," Worrick said. "Studying, restudying, thinking about it, praying about it and coming to a conclusion."

Visiting physicians are not expected to be affected by the change, he said.